Assassins Who Targeted Journalist Masih Alinejad Sentenced as She Reflects on America’s Role in Her Life
31 Oct 2025
Journalist and women’s rights advocate Masih Alinejad welcomed the sentencing of the Iranian-backed hit team sent to kill her on U.S. soil—a moment she calls proof that the country she once was taught to hate has become the place that saved her life. The plot, orchestrated by agents aligned with Tehran, never succeeded, but the court’s decision to hold the perpetrators accountable in New York reinforces the strength of American legal protections and the rule of law. In her new op-ed for The Free Press, Alinejad writes, “Today, a judge will sentence the hitman Iran sent to kill me on American soil. It’s proof that the country where I sought refuge protects the freedoms I love.”
Born in 1976 in Iran, Masih began her career as a journalist and activist, ultimately launching the viral campaign "My Stealthy Freedom" in 2014, which encouraged Iranian women to post photos without hijabs in protest of compulsory veiling. Her memoir, The Wind in My Hair, brings to life what it means to challenge oppression in a theocratic system, and her work has earned multiple international human-rights awards
Whether you are seeking inspiration, a deeper understanding of human rights in Iran, or a concrete call to civic engagement, Masih Alinejad delivers insight, urgency, and personal magnetism in every keynote.